Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1887-03-29

POW nr ~ Ui qttested he will to some ri
make aVoneW II. +. RAYMoNkya
am 1888 Plccadlily, London W.
novo advertisement, which ap-
.oared in Yesterdays Herald, is the hrst
rord in what may become the Closing
,csre in A story of adventure ana fortune
1nIondid as .sMonte Cristo" and as ex-
.5na "a cali Baba and the Forty
Thieves" o,,Iu four.
~ ad long been lost sight OF and
' ino wy foryottep. when this advertisement
.ecalIed them to their Vlcuh.
NJ Tarome l.. Babe, who 10 now WIN
,no Fnnltable Life Assurance society,
uo soan many phases of life-trom the
,osition al one stranded" TO tne prouu
4 ,,,nonce of the wealthy owner OF south
African diamond mine
81 ~ servod in the Confederate army; ne
4 ma made a break for liking Solomoos
8 vipes " recently chr0nicled IN Mr.. hiuer
gaggard's story; he has crossed more
q than one ocean with his pocKeIs pulging
4 ont with uncut diamonds, ana ne mas
been ro0oed. 49,, o5,,ortiso-
4 ,,nnt hrinos freshly to mis- mind, and the
no.sihle restitution Of his diamonds that
& NAV result from 1t.
Il THIS is his story:
8 In Ma MIR. Babe found himself in San
q francisco "cleahed out" he mad
q ,r,and Cornelius Burke, son OF Glandy
Burke. a prominent banker OF New Or-
Il lAs VINO had 81, 800 In his inside pocket
and who proposed 10 call it iund IN
B common with his friend, to whom he pro-
i nospd an adventure IN search OF fortune
to south America.
They paid their passage to Panama,
4 and while they were awaiting there tae
Fn0lish steamer for the Southern Henri
4 spbere they learned through telegram
4 trom Prof, Mauch, of South Africa, of
some discoveries OF gold in Africa. This
1 changed their destination from the doubt
Il tul to the more certain adventure, and
4 thew promptly returned to New York and
took the first steamer tor England, where
they Joined one Of the parties or sixty
plners" for the Cape.
An eighty-day voyage brought them,
not aground the world" but as tar
around as they cared to go, and early in
1859 they set foot on the promised land.
At Natal they met the Hon. j. w. Shep-
stone, Colonial Secretary OF Natal, who
was interested in Americans, and intro.
luced them to an American missionary,
l.
snd many strange peoples. From the
aborigines the missionary had learned all
about king Solomon's Mlnes"-not
diamond mines, as Mr.. Haggard's story
describes them, but gold mines-which
Law near supposed river above the Fam
besi, called the Sabia-perhaps corrup-
ton of "Sheba," where the gorgeous
Biblical queen held sway. The inhabit-
ants of this country represented that
there we're near them the ruins OF an
ancient city aud the traces Of an ancient
nine.
Mr. Babe, as an old California miner,
knew that free gold was often found on a
quartz lead and his information and eX-
perience combined to convince him that
the ancient mines had been abandoned
when, after striking free gold above and
sinking shafts to several hundred feet,
the miners came to water aud found the
Tree gold turned to pyrites, which they
were not sufficiently skilled 10 handle.
Imagination firing his zeal, he equipped
an expedition, and in company with Mr..
Burke and MIR. John Campbell, Mobile
,ott0n planter, started for the diggings of
The much married KIM. But after they
lad cotton 800 miles into Zululand their
english Wagons-much Inferior to the
American-broke down, and they lost all
hey had and all they hoped for. Return
ing to Port Elizabeth. they borrowed on
Burke's security f100 of Taylor, Camp &
NO., bankers, and came back to America.
But MIR. Babe had learned something in
18TH Africa; and in 1870 he went back
Ere with the agency Tor the Winchester
N,,eatlng rife, for which he found good
ELAet. At Colesburg, in the interior, he
eeitd OF the discovery of diamonds on the
|.aT Il river, hundred miles further in,
|S mad made good start toward a for
ne when the arrival Of arms for distri-
zion called him back to Cape Town.
kfvm there be went to Kim berry, where
Sf'e the dry" diggings, where diamonds
found In the craters OF the mud vol
,;;Nnoes, and after long process of water
lhlg and separating were recovered.
fell For $50 be bought claim and turned IT.
over 10 three Amerlcans-JOhn Ten Eyck
I 'anderwerken OF Troy, N. "; Il. B.
= ,1cker and f. B. MillE-to work on shares.
,SNlng MIN one half In six months Babes
snare amounted to f17,500. He got So. 800
LOT one diamond weighing eiQhty-two
carats, but slightly imperfect. and on an
other claim Wander @erken got diamond
equally valuable.
baoe mad met in Africa on this trip three
'ther Americans OF a somewhat different
Ups Iney were Henry j. RAYMOND.
Oily 81. Clair and K. Baker, and they had
Drought out lot of machinery, These
Lueh joined Babe and started with him for
uolhe' Az the time he had no suspicion of
s, put he says he was subsequently in
III lheu Oy the New York police that Raw
NTno, VINO claimed to be son of Henry
VI Uay mona, OF the New York Times. and
was so introduced by Babe to South Afri-
S"u eoltors, was ''crookO of high degree.
i LAWN among other things been partner
~ tne robbery Of the BoylsIon Bank. He
~as lamlllarly known as GUS, Raw
,Enouu' ana mad an alias, Adam Worth.v
from What he learned and observed Babe
vecame satisfied later that the object Of
Snese men In accompanying him was to
seI MS diamonds, which he carried on bIs
person. -0~ VA ni'
Oh the way home from South Africa the
os5 u touched at the Island of Madeira.
az paoe intended to get off there and sell
at runchal, going atterward to Lis
49, anu Madrid. But he was met at
a Suouai by a letter from the Wfnches-
s' saying they would take care of those
nu ceFtallr other markets.
- Vuluks tlls saved his property and
kdnaps MS life. as the island would have
e. eoou place for his COMPANIONS 70
| e. ana II necessary kill him.
w tuey all went 10 London. wbero thev
w., ", together at the Charing Cross
III; ~ was now 1871. Babe had a mar
"ul VI diamonds, but no money. Invited
W ulhher ono evening, ne endeayornd
neeouale loan OF couple OF mounds
al ~ tne landlord, but the safe was locked
I, ava 1t was against the rules to oppn IL or !
NHu money. and whan ,,.,..t.. -